Site description A major lagoon (900 × 600 m) on the Sahil al Jazir coastal plain, land-locked and predominantly freshwater, and surrounded by flat, sandy terrain including dunes. Aquatic vegetation includes Potamogeton and Ruppia; salt-tolerant dwarf shrubs and woody-based herbs are abundant around the site, becoming sparse away from the water. Human population density is low. Nomadic pastoralism is widely practised, and fishing is important in the coastal people's economy.

Key Biodiversity See box for key species. The site is rich in duck and roosting seabirds and shorebirds in winter and during migration. Up to c.600 duck occur in winter (the highest number in central Oman), including Aythya nyroca (see box), as well as good numbers of gulls and terns: Larus cachinnans/L. argentatus (140, January), Sterna nilotica (50, November), S. caspia (80, January), S. bergii (300, May) and S. sandvicensis (350, January). At least 121 species have been recorded, though the site is rather underwatched due to its remoteness.